


I see you.

by slowroad



Series: A forever love [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26026735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowroad/pseuds/slowroad
Summary: It's the night before a tournament and Arthur is unable to sleep. Merlin brings him some tea and they get talking...and they learn a few interesting things about each other.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: A forever love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887751
Comments: 6
Kudos: 180





	I see you.

**Author's Note:**

> These characters don't belong to me. I have simply borrowed them for a while.

It was the night before the tournament and Arthur couldn't sleep. It was well past midnight and he knew that he needed to be well rested for the next day. He'd tried to sleep, but he'd tossed and turned until he couldn't stand doing that anymore. So he'd got up and he was standing at his window watching the moonlight in the courtyard.

Arthur wasn't nervous, not really. He knew his own skill. And he knew that he would most likely win. It was what his father expected of him. It was what all of Camelot expected. But all that expectation brought a lot of pressure with it. It made him feel a little bitter, like he was nothing more than his title and his skill with the sword, like the man he was did not matter one bit to anyone. 

There was a soft knock on the door. He was surprised. 

"Come in," he said and Merlin entered. 

"What are you doing here at this time of the night?"

"I knew you'd still be awake so I thought you might like some tea and a bit of company."

"You brought me tea?"

"And scones and bit of cake."

"Did you raid the kitchens at this time of the night?"

"No. I stocked up earlier. "

"Resourceful..."

"Do you want to sit at the table or on the floor in front of the fireplace?"

"The floor."

"Okay then."

Merlin put the tray on the floor and sat leaning against the bed. Arthur joined him. Merlin poured the tea and cut the cake and they sat there in the dark, sipping their tea and eating cake with nothing but moonlight and a couple of candles illuminating the room. 

"This is nice. Thank you," Arthur said. "How did you know I was awake?"

"I didn't. But I know you. You never manage to sleep on the night before a tournament or a battle. So I thought I'd check."

"So you sacrificed your sleep to come cheer me up. This is far beyond what most servants would do."

"Maybe. But it is what a friend would do."

"Huh! So you've finally deemed me worthy of being your friend, have you?"

Merlin coloured a bit. He knew that Arthur was referring to what he'd said the first time they'd met. _I'd never be friends with someone who can be such an arse._

"I may have been wrong about you that day," he said. "Or at least, not entirely right."

"Uh huh..."

"You're still a prat."

"Of course."

"But you're quite a bit more than that."

"I am?"

"Yes. Underneath all that bluster and your general prattiness, you're really quite adorable."

Arthur tried not to smile at that, but he failed. 

"I'm a warrior, Merlin. I'm a Knight of Camelot. A man like me is not adorable."

"Not a man like you, perhaps, but you certainly are. At least, I think so."

Arthur shook his head at Merlin and turned away. 

"So...what do you want to do? To pass the time?" He asked.

"What we're already doing," Merlin said. "We could talk."

"What about?"

"Anything, really. I've been your manservant for a year now and there are still a lot of things about you that I don't know. For instance, how old were you when you started training with a sword?"

"Four."

"That's young."

"Not really. Most young men from noble families start training at five."

"How old were you when you entered your first tournament?"

"Twelve."

"Did you win?"

"Obviously."

"Prat," Merlin said fondly. 

There was silence for a minute or two after that. 

"Who taught you to read and write?" Arthur asked. He sounded like he'd been wondering about this for a while now.

"My mother. She wasn't always a peasant. She used to be a lady's maid, in the court at Essetir. Her lady taught her."

"Why did she leave the court?"

"Because she met my father. He had a bit of land in Ealdor that he wanted to farm. So..."

"Do you miss him? Your father?"

"You shouldn't be able to miss someone you've never met, but I do, yeah. I suppose it's the same for you with your mother."

"It is. I can't help wondering how different my life would've been if she'd lived. It would've been nice to have one loving parent. You're luckier than I am in that respect."

"True."

They fell silent again for a bit. 

"Did you have a girl back in Ealdor?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I've never been drawn to girls, to be honest."

This wasn't exactly a surprise to Arthur, but it was still nice to have his suspicion confirmed. 

"A boy then."

Merlin nodded. "His name was George. He was a couple of years older than me."

"What happened to him?" 

"He died. Bandits."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Merlin shrugged. "It's the kind of thing that happens to peasants."

"Is that one of the reasons you left?"

"That and the fact that I was trying to find a place where I could fit in and feel at home."

"Have you found it? You didn't give me a definite answer the last time I asked."

They looked at each other then. Merlin held Arthur's gaze for a long moment. 

"Yes. I have found a home, here in Camelot..."

The "...with you" was left unsaid, but it was implied and Arthur understood. 

"What about you? Do you have someone in Camelot?" Merlin asked.

"There's no way you wouldn't know if I did."

"There has been someone before, though."

"Yes. A few someones."

"Men and women?" Merlin sounded like he was trying to confirm a suspicion of his own.

"Yes. It was never anything meaningful. Just satisfying a physical need."

"There nothing wrong with that."

"No. But that's not enough any more, not for me."

"That's never been enough for me. I'm one of the romantics of this world."

"I know. That's why I mock you."

"It's also why you like me."

"True."

There was another pause in the conversation as the two of them thought through everything they'd shared. 

"It's difficult for me to know whether someone is with me because they actually like me or because they like the idea of being with Prince Arthur. Most of the time, it's the latter and that can be quite depressing. It's like they don't see me and they don't particularly want to, either."

Arthur looked troubled and Merlin didn't much like the sight of that. So he moved a bit closer and put his arm around Arthur before he could talk himself out of it. Arthur stiffened at the contact and then he relaxed. 

Merlin lifted his hand began to run his fingers through Arthur's hair. Arthur sighed and relaxed even more. He rested his head against Merlin's shoulder as Merlin continued to play with that golden-blond mop that he was so fond of. Arthur's breathing slowly became deeper and more even, until he fell asleep. 

"I see you," Merlin said into the silence. 


End file.
